Examining substance use among rural Appalachian and urban non-Appalachian individuals participating in drug court.

The study purpose was to examine differences in substance use among individuals in drug court (N = 583) in rural Appalachian (n = 301) and urban non-Appalachian areas (n = 282). A series of logistic regression analyses suggested individuals in the rural Appalachian area were significantly more likely to report lifetime use of cocaine, illicit opiates, and illicit benzodiazepines, but they were less likely to report methamphetamine use when compared with individuals in the urban non-Appalachian area. Regarding past 30-day use, a series of logistic regression analyses suggested individuals in the rural Appalachian area were significantly more likely to use marijuana, illicit opiates, and illicit benzodiazepines, but they were less likely to report crack cocaine use when compared with individuals in the urban non-Appalachian area. Identifying differences which exist in substance use is the first step in generating evidence-based structural changes in treatment drug court programs. Future research should focus on better understanding context in terms of demographic, geographic, and economic conditions, which may be of critical influence on substance use and treatment planning.

Job frustration in substance abuse counselors working with offenders in prisons versus community settings.

Substance abuse counselors who work with offenders are facing increasing caseloads, which puts them at higher risk of job frustration. The purpose of this study was to explore differences between substance abuse counselors employed in prison versus community settings in terms of level of organizational support and job frustration. This study also investigated whether organizational support was associated with job frustration after controlling for counselor characteristics and workplace setting. This was accomplished utilizing data that were collected from 267 counselors as part of the Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies research cooperative. Results indicated that counselors employed in community settings, as compared with those employed in prisons, are more likely to report higher levels of perceived organizational support. In addition, ordinal logistic regression results reveal that counselors who are non-White and have greater levels of organizational support have less job frustration, after controlling for counselor characteristics and workplace setting. The researches to practice implications are discussed.